Nobility on Display in Noble Canyon



To me, few things are more inspiring than witnessing human beings taking on significant challenges and then doing their best. Especially their very best.

When people willfully commit to something hard in order to push their boundaries, it is then that the nobility of the human spirit is manifest. Today I saw that human nobility on plain display in Noble Canyon, California—the site of a grueling ultra marathon. I was there with family to support my 26 year-old daughter, Rachel, a young mother of three, in her 33 mile run over terrain that would tax a Hummer.

Rachel and her running partner, Melissa Kleiner, had made the decision to enter this race a mere four months prior. To even come close to being prepared for this kind of a test in that amount of time required a lot of discipline and sacrifice right from the start. Many of their runs required arising in the wee morning hours so they could fit their training into their normal load of commitments. For Rachel, who just gave birth to Lora in February, it meant arising at 3:30 a.m. in order to nurse the baby before her runs. To me, such discipline bespeaks nobility.

Both Rachel and Melissa are fit and athletic, but neither had run distances approaching an ultra marathon. From the very beginning their goal was to simply finish the race in under 9 hours—the official cut-off time for the event.

At the 7:05 a.m. start, 138 very fit runners commenced. Not all of them finished. Along the route, I saw nobility in the attitudes and actions displayed by both the runners and the many volunteers who served them at the aid stations. Example after example of runners helping other runners, and volunteers going “above and beyond” to help someone they did not even know reach a personal goal was inspiring and humbling.

I saw nobility again when Melissa arrived at an aid station deep into the race. The 21.7 miles had clearly taken their toll. She was hurting. You could just see the pain in her eyes, and they began to well with tears. For a second I thought, “oh oh, this might be it.” She stood there for a moment, head bowed, hands on her hips. Then, she straightened her back, lifted her head, and let us know that she was not about to quit. “Fill up my camel back. Make sure it’s full this time, I need to get going,” she said.

It was plain that a victory had been fought and won in those brief seconds. Melissa had been tempted to quit, but she fought off the doubts and the pain, and made the decision to keep fighting. A few minutes later nobility ran up the hill for the last 11.3 miles, making her body do what her mind had set out to do from the start—to finish.

The final scenes of nobility were unforgettable and priceless. From our vantage point near the finish line, we could only see the final quarter mile. Our anxiety grew as the time waned. The ticking of the seconds, plainly evident before us on the official race clock, seemed to ridicule our hopes of two happy endings, as the official close of the race at the 9-hour mark drew nearer and nearer.

Estimating Rachel’s progress from the time we had last seen her (leaving Aid Station Four, 11.3 miles earlier) we knew, if her body did not “hit the wall,” she had a good chance of finishing—of even coming in well ahead of the 9-hour cut-off. We even started hoping for the possibility that she might finish under 8 hours. But the clock was relentless. 7 hours and 50 minutes went by. No Rachel. 7:52:00 went by. No Rachel. 7:53:00 went by too. About that time we knew that if we didn’t see her within a minute or so, she would not be able to cover the final quarter mile in time to get there under 8 hours.

And then, we saw a head…a brunette…with a gray shirt…a lot like Rachel’s. Yes! It was Rachel! 7 hrs and 54 minutes and some seconds!! Still enough time to make it under 8 hours! We screamed and yelled and almost ruptured our vocal chords cheering her on. Official time: 7 hrs, 55 minutes and 50 seconds!

In the minutes that followed Melissa too made her appearance, well ahead of “closing time.”

Rachel and Melissa both reached their goals. They finished ahead of the official cut-off time of 9 hours. The winner, 50 year-old, amazing Eric Clifton crossed the finish line in 4 hours 44 minutes. Yet their victory was no less impressive nor any less sweet. Making yourself carry on when every step is a pain, completing what you set out to do, no matter how hard it gets, that’s nobility.  And, manning the aid stations, unselfishly doing things to help others reach their goals? Well, that’s nobility too.

Fundamentals of Change



Enjoyed a meaningful experience today. As a faculty member of an outstanding learning and growth organization, iLearningGlobal, I was asked to present a 20-minute “nugget” to an audience of over 120 marketing representatives, most of whom had travelled to Phoenix for this event. I was not the only faculty member who spoke. In fact, I shared the podium with some very strong and well known authors, teachers, and corporate trainers.

Due to the recent death of a neighbor—a cordial, outgoing man with an abiding family commitment, with so much of life still ahead of him, I began my remarks by asking the audience, including myself, to consider the question, “To what degree am I living my life?” I am confident this was not the first time any of us in the room had done some introspection and self-evaluation triggered by some personal event that underscored the brevity and fragility of life. We have all done this before. Truthfully, we do not do this often enough, on our own, without some outside event evoking such a thoughtful pause.

An additional question I posed to them I now pose to you: “When we step back from our life to examine our trends and progress, do we do that with the cognizant awareness that what we are seeing is the print-out of our current mindset and thought trends?” And, if we see something that we would like to improve or change, what thoughts do we think at that moment—what is our governing point of view about how the change needs to come about?

My opinion is that most of us look at what things have to change and what people have to change, and what circumstances have to change, rather than what thoughts and perceptions—what mental habits—do I have to change.

People change from within or they change not at all.

Nothing will fundamentally change in our career, our business or our life unless and until we get to the root cause of our successes and our shortfalls.

Change your name and your image… upgrade your computer and your software… move to a new town or buy a new home… throw out all your old clothes and get a whole new wardrobe… do a make-over to whatever extreme you desire…

But if you fail to upgrade the very software of your mind—how you see yourself, your world, and the opportunities around you—how you connect with your loved ones, friends, and co-workers—how you respond to adversity, set-backs, and disappointments—at best, your improvements will be modest and temporary.

Your thoughts about my thoughts….

 

Arizona Management Society: A Leader’s Question on Accountability



Yesterday, I had the opportunity of delivering the keynote address at the Arizona Management Society, which meets for a luncheon meeting on a monthly basis. I viewed this invitation as somewhat of an honor because September is the “kick-off” month for the new year (AMS takes the three summer months off), and the organization puts forth extra effort to attract membership. The society’s recruiting efforts were successful, resulting in a higher than normal turn-out.

During my remarks I talked about the imperative of placing responsibility for accountability where it rightfully belongs—on the individual employee rather than upon supervisors and managers (see blog of Sep 15). In the Q&A session, one sharp executive posed an excellent discussion point. Essentially, he observed: “As a leader, I have tried to get my people to take more responsibility and be more accountable, but they never seem to step up. The only thing that seems to work is the old “hold their feet to the fire” approach, that involves some form of coercion. I would be over-joyed to have my people hold themselves accountable, but I do not see how that would ever happen. Any suggestions?”

Before I jump into an extensive “all-seeing, all-knowing, Carnac the Magnificent” commentary (part of which I offered to the AMS in response to this leader’s question), I would like to receive some of your comments on this discussion point.

To “prime the pump,” let me say that I believe that part of our dilemma is our fundamental mindset or mental posture when it comes to supervision and management. We do not look at leaders, managers, and supervisors as teachers and educators, we view them as task masters and drill sergeants (all due respect to those of you in military).

Your thoughts about my thoughts…

Processes, People, and Human Growth Hormone



For good reason we extol the value of sound processes. Indeed it could be argued that most highly successful enterprises are the end product of well designed and well executed processes. While we celebrate their merit, let us not lose sight of the fact that processes do not run themselves. When, in fact, processes are well executed, they are well executed by human beings. And, quoting Hamlet, “there’s the rub,” because human beings are diverse, complex, and unpredictable. Andy Grove of Intel, said it well: “Organizations cannot be changed on internet time… because people don’t behave like electrons.”

Dr. Michael Hammer, in The Process Audit, states:

“…enterprises also have to reshape organizational cultures to emphasize teamwork, personal accountability, and the customer’s importance; redefine roles and respons-ibilities so that managers oversee processes instead of activities and develop people rather than supervise them.”

Dr. Hammer is right on. It is imperative that we develop people rather than supervise them. This powerful and largely overlooked principle is a corollary to Dr. Edwards Deming’s famous observation that companies needed to stop trying to inspect quality into their products. It is high time that we reallocate managers’ time, having them oversee and improve processes rather than trying to inspect ownership and accountability into their people.

The good news is, although minds don’t behave with uniform conformity like electrons, minds are nonetheless educable. Ownership can be learned and it can be taught. And, there are sound educational processes out there that accomplish that.

Well designed and skillfully delivered ownership and accountability training is tantamount to the mental equivalent of human growth hormone (but without the deleterious side effects). Human growth potential is a real but mostly untapped corporate resource. People up and down the organization can function “like athletes on steroids,” when they have the knowledge and skills of ownership coupled with a clear what’s-in-it-for-me motive.

People come to embrace ownership and choose to hold themselves personally accountable when they see the overwhelming personal advantages that stem from doing so. Almost by DNA we are ease-seeking, pain-avoiding entities. When any of us come to see how much easier we can make our lives by cutting out the whining and excuse-making—and how much more fulfilling it is to solve problems and execute priorities—amazing things happen.

For far too long, we have burdened leaders on all levels with the onus of “holding their people accountable.” That is almost an oxymoron. The fact is, you cannot hold me accountable, only I can do that. You can threaten me and put pressure on me to try to force me to do the accountable thing. But, in the end, it always comes down to my choice. Accountability is an individual responsibility. No amount of skill on your part will succeed in “holding me accountable,” if I flatly refuse to respond to your tactics. This very fact lies at the heart of the common passive-aggressive behavior of many people lodged in our corporate structures.

The day I wake up to the fact that all my blaming and lame excuses are paltry pay-offs for genuine results and real growth is the day that I get serious about detecting and rejecting my own Victim-thinking and embrace Ownership. And, that is the same day that I no longer need you or any other outside force to “hold me accountable.”

For further insights on personal accountability and developing Ownership within your organization, click here.

Your thoughts about my thoughts…